Turkish Last Names – Most Popular Surnames in Turkey

 

Turkish citizens did not always have an official Turkish last names as we know them today. Before the introduction of the Turkish Surname Law, the Turkish people had names taken after their fathers with the suffix “oglu” added to the end, indicating that they were the “son of” their fathers. This name was put before their given name. Nicknames were also commonly used before the introduction of this law.

When the Turkish surname law was passed, it became mandatory that all family surnames be in Turkish, with no use of foreign name endings allowed. The eldest male was expected to choose a family surname. When these names were chosen, most Turks chose names associated with their heritage, ancestors, place of origin or their family occupation. This is a pattern which is evident to this day.

Turkish Surnames – Most Common Turkish Last Names With Meanings:

Listed below are the most commonly found surnames in Turkey. We have put the meaning with the name so that you can see where they originate from, and what category of surnames rhey fall into.

Polat – Steel.

Kaya – Rock.

Yıldız – Star.

Erdoğan – Brave warrior/fighter/hawk. This name may sound familiar as the President of Turkey also holds this surname.

Şahin – Falcon.

Özdemir – Pure iron.

Aydın – Enlightened or bright.

Öztürk – Pure or Core Turk.

Aksoy – White ancestry.

Demir – Iron.

Yıldırım/Şimşek – Lightning.

Yavuz – Resolute or ferocious.

Arslan – Lion.

Kaplan – Tiger.

Kılıç – Sword.

Köse – Beardless.

Bulut – Cloud.

Koc – Little.

Çetin – Tough or robust.

Doğan – Hawk.

Can – Spirit, life or heart.

 

 

If you enjoyed this article, you can read more of our worldlastnames.com articles below.

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5. Cool Last Names
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7. Arabic Last Names
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10. Swedish Last Names